Hypocrisy: February 21, 2013

TODAY”S WORD FOR THURSDAY FEBRUARY 21, 2013

HYPOCRISY

DEFINITION:

The false profession of desirable or publically approved qualities, beliefs or feelings; a pretense of having virtues, moral principles, or religious beliefs that one does not really possess.

SCRIPTURE:

For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautifully outwardly, but inside are full of --- all uncleanness Matthew 23:27.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Simply put, hypocrisy is saying one-thing and doing another. Hypocrisy is rampant in today’s world. It is hard to believe what most people say, especially our political leaders. When running for election they make all sorts of promises but after they are elected they do not do what they promised to do. With modern technology most everything a politician says and does is recorded and can be played back later, but this does not seem to hold them accountable.

The hypocrisy we see in our political leaders is bad, but even worse is the hypocrisy we see in the lives of some Christian leaders and many who claim to be Christians. In Matthew 23, Jesus called out the spiritual leaders of that day on their hypocrisy. Three times Jesus said to them, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites.”

Many Pharisees took pride, in Jesus day, in showing off their spirituality in public. Jesus knew, as did many others, that on the inside they were guilty of many secret sins. Because of their hypocrisy, Jesus compared them to “whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are unclean.”

Tombs, in Jesus day, were constantly whitewashed to make them stand out. If a person touched or even accidentally stepped on a grave it caused ceremonial uncleanness (Numbers 19:16). A freshly white painted tomb would be brilliantly white and sometimes spectacularly ornate; however, the inside of these tombs were full of defilement and decay.

We are often tempted to cultivate a false image for others to see in our lives. But God doesn’t look at our outward appearance. He knows our hearts. When hypocrisy begins to seep into our lives we, as believers, through confession and prayer need to open our hearts to God’s Word and the work of the Holy Spirit. It is then we can experience an inner goodness that is reflected in Godly actions. We need to let Christ transform us from the inside out. Remember, only Christ can transform you. You can hide your hypocrisy from others but you cannot hide it from God.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Psalm 23:1.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

PRAYER:

It is my prayer that You will daily change my life both inside and out so that others will see Christ in us. Help me to be an example to those who are living hypocritical lives so they will see You through my words and my deeds.